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Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 1 March 2021
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Incanthera (INC) says that it is prioritising discussions with two global cosmetic companies as potential partners for Sol, a sun cream that prevents skin cancer. Incanthera is also assessing the potential for using the technology to develop other products.
Sativa Wellness (SWEL) plans to raise C$4m through a placing of units at C$0.07875 each. Each unit consists of one share one-half of a warrant exercisable at C$0.105 each. The cash will provide working capital and investment for a new health screening service. Sativa has opened ten Covid-19 testing facilities. A dispute with Dragonfly Biosciences has been settled.
World High Life (LIFE) is submitting a novel food dossier to the Food Standards Agency. This is part of the move to regulation of the CBD market in the UK. The dossier includes pre-clinical results.
AfriAg Global (AFRI) intends to acquire the shares in medicinal cannabis pharma company Apollon Formularies that it does not own, and this will be classed as a reverse takeover. Shares will be issued to the Apollon shareholders. AfriAg is also raising £2.5m at 5p a share.
Arbuthnot Banking (ARBB) is selling its Tay mortgage portfolio to a subsidiary of OneSavings Bank for £53.8m, which is equivalent to 97.9% of the outstanding loans. Arbuthnot has already announced that it intends to pay a 21p a share special dividend, which replaces the 2019 dividend declared in March 2020. Arbuthnot will make a loss in 2020 so there will be no dividend.
Gunsynd (GUN) has invested £65,000 in a convertible loan issue by B2B pool betting platform Low6. Gunsynd had already invested £200,000 last December. AIM-quoted Pires Investments (PIRI) has also increased its investment in Low6. It invested a further £35,000, having also invested £200,000 at the same time as Gunsynd. Low6 is expected to float during the second quarter of 2021 and Canaccord Genuity is its broker.
Tectonic Gold (TTAU) says that the latest exploration at Specimen Hill reaffirms the drill targets and informs plans for higher density drilling, so that a resource can be calculated. Tectonic says that the Deep Blue Minerals diamonds joint venture with AIM-quoted Kazera Global Investments produced 220 carats in January. Higher grade materials will be mined during the rest of the year.
SulNOx Group (SNOX) says that Bureau Veritas has certified that SulnoxEco Fuel Conditioner complies with European standards. This means that SulNox’s products can be used for 70% of the hydrocarbon market. Management is confident that production can be scaled up.
NQ Minerals (NQMI) has signed an agreement with ASX-listed Evolution Mining for the evaluation and potential processing of lead and silver rich stockpiles at the Sunbeam project in North Queensland. Evolution has a processing plant 80km away from Sunbeam, which has stockpiles from past mining. The processing would be done on a cost and revenue share basis with NQ. This could finance further exploration. NQ says that it should qualify for the Green Economy Mark when it moves to the standard list.
Lombard Capital (LCAP) has received shareholder approval for refocusing its strategy on property investment and development.
Almon I Holding has cut its stake in Coinsilium (COIN) to below 3%. It increased its stake to 3.68% in January 2020.
Altona Energy has changed its name to Altona Rare Earths (ANR).
AIM
Trading platform operator Aquis Exchange (AQX) moved into profit last year thanks to high levels of trading on its platform. Aquis had been expected to lose money in 2020 but it is now expected to make a £200,000 profit on revenues of £11m. EU trades have been moved to the Paris operation and London has restarted trading in Swiss shares.
VR Education (VRE) continues to grow the revenues of its ENGAGE VR platform. Group revenues increased by 38%, while ENGAGE revenues rose by 550% thanks to strong demand for virtual events. The US provides significant potential. VR is still hiring additional people, although the focus is more on marketing. VR is still losing money, but the cash burn has been reduced this year. Management is targeting 100,000 monthly users by 2025.
Hormonal disease treatments developer Diurnal (DNL) says Alkindi sales in the UK and Germany grew by 29% in the first half but the timing of purchases in other markets meant that overall revenues barely increased. Chronocourt could gain European approval in March and the US regulatory pathway for DITEST, an oral testosterone formulation, has been set out. Net cash was £20.3m at the end of December 2020.
K3 Business Technology (KBT) has sold its managed services business for £14.7m. The business made a pre-tax profit of £1.2m last year, but the disposal proceeds will wipe out net debt and enable the repayment of the £3m shareholder loan due in June. There should still be more than £35m of recurring revenues.
Interim trading at transport software and services provider Tracsis (TRCS) was active and it was not far below the levels in the six months to January 2020 prior to Covid-19 becoming a factor. Revenues declined from £26.4m to £22m and management believes Covid-19 reduced the figure by £6m. New rail contracts are being won, but the lack of events hit the data and events division. Cash has improved from £17.9m to £21m.
Revenues fell by one-third at President Energy (PPC) in 2020 due to lower oil prices. President did generate $10m of free cash flow and that helped to reduce net debt. President plans to drill seven wells this year and that could increase production by one-third. Anew subsidiary, Atome, will develop hydrogen and ammonia production.
Shield Therapeutics (STX) has raised £25m at 30p a share and could raise a further £4.2m via an open offer. The cash will finance the new strategy of directly launching iron deficiency treatment Accrufer in the US.
Yew Grove REIT (YEW) has agreed a new lease for Gateway Three building, East Wall Road, Dublin with the Electricity Supply Board. The new lease lasts five years. Along with three rent reviews, this takes the increase in annual rents to €470,000 this year.
Best of the Best (BOTB) has concluded its strategic review and it has reemphasised its online strategy. finnCap has upgraded its pre-tax profit forecast to £14m.
Benchmark Holdings (BMK) increased first quarter revenues by 18% to £29m and it is on course to reduce its loss this year, prior to moving into profit in 2021-22. The advanced nutrition business contributed significant growth in the first quarter.
MAIN MARKET
Online auctions provider Auction Technology Group (ATG) raised £247.4m at 600p a share, while existing shareholders pocketed £51.5m after the over-allotment option was exercised. The company was valued at £600m. There was a 30% gain to 780p a share at the end of the first week of trading. The company is involved with three main auction markets: arts and antiques, industrial and commercial and consumer surplus and returns. It has six main auction marketplace brands and trade magazine Antiques Trade Gazette. Low double-digit organic revenue growth is anticipated for the next few years.
Town Centre Securities (TOWN) announced a 1.75p a share interim dividend, even though this is not covered by earnings. Lower car park income meant that there was a sharp decline in interim profit. The NAV was 286p a share at the end of December 2020 and it is not expected to decline by more than 2% by the year-end in June. This is more than double the current share price.
CML Microsystems (CML) is paying 50p a share to investors following the sale of its storage division. This will cost £8.28m. the cash should be received before the end of March.
Strong demand for diagnostic products more than offset weakness in the networking division of BATM Advanced Communication (BVC) and enabled 2020 revenues to grow by 49% to $184m. Pre-tax profit jumped from $5.2m to $13.6m. Revenues are expected to decline this year, but pre-tax profit is forecast to improve from $13.6m to $17.3m. This may depend on the timing of the sale of the NGSoft business and it also assumes no additional sales of ventilators this year. Longer-term, revenues will build up from virtual networking technology NFVTime. There is also potential for dividends.
Construction services provider NMCN (NMCN) says that two contracts in the water division could lead to an additional loss of £5m in 2020. These costs relate to delays. The total loss for 2020 could be up to £22m. The additional cash costs will be spread over 28 months. Shareholders are being asked to agree to an extension of the company’s borrowing limit.
Aircraft lessor Avation (AVAP) took a $46.7m impairment charge on its aircraft and a $12.9m credit loss in the six months to December 2020. The NAV was 174p a share at the end of 2020. A full year loss of $30m is expected before the exceptional write-offs.
Cannabis-based products developer Cellular Goods (CBX) raised £13m in its offer at 5p a share. The share price jumped to 19p on the first day of dealings.
Potash project developer Emmerson (EML) raised £5.5m at 5.75p a share. Emmerson has a mining licence for the Khemisset potash project in Morocco. The cash will be used for the detailed design of the mine and the phased development of the project.
Shell company Stranger Holdings (STHP) is pushing ahead with the proposed reverse takeover of the Recyclus Group. A prospectus is being drafted.
Packaging supplier Macfarlane Group (MACF) increased its 2020 profit by 10% to £13m on a 2% increase in revenues to £230m. The full year dividend has been increased from 0.69p a share to 2.55p a share.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 15 February 2021
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Oberon Investments Group (OBE) has joined the Access segment following the reversal of the wealth management business into standard list shell Baskerville Capital. Assets under administration are more than £400m. Oberon was formed in 2017 and acquired investment manager MD Barnard. It also has a corporate broking business, and it is joint broker to MyHealthChecked (MHC). There was £1.44m raised at 4p a share at the time of the reversal.
Brewer Curious Drinks is being placed into administration and the business will be acquired by Risk Capital Partners, which was founded by Luke Johnson. This will have to be agreed by the HMRC and the secured creditor HSBC. There should be no redundancies Majority owner Chapel Down Group (CDGP) is offering small shareholders in Curious Drinks a share swap. There will be 1.57 Chapel Down shares issued for each Curious Drinks share. In 2015, Curious Drinks raised £1.71m via a crowdfunding with Seedrs, which equates to a market capitalisation of £17.7m. That funding was equivalent to 9.66% of Curious Drinks and there were 886 shareholders. The share swap should provide around 50% of the initial investment. There will be less than 1% dilution for Chapel Down shareholders. Chapel Down net debt will be slashed from £7.2m to £100,000. There was a loan from Chapel Down to Curious Drinks of £7.77m included in the 2019 accounts.
Coinsilium (COIN) holds $1.98m of cryptocurrency and tokens, which is a 17% increase in fewer than three weeks.
Gunsynd (GUN) has sold all its shares in Angold Resources. This raised £163,000. Chris Akers has increased his stake in Gunsynd to 5.36%.
Tectonic Gold (TTAU) continues to have a 100% success rate for its exploration drilling. According to managing director Brett Boynton the latest hole shows “multiple stacked veins somewhat like a palm tree spraying out mineralised fronds from the primary fault zone”.
NQ Minerals (NQMI) has raised £301,000 at 7p a share from one institution and private investors. Vulcan Industries (VULC) has raised a further £185,000 with some shares placed at 3.6p and some at 4p.
Western Selection (WESP) has bought a further 150,000 shares in Bilby (BILB) at 29.8p each. The total stake is 11%.
AIM
Joules (JOUL) has acquired the Garden Trading Company, which takes it into the home and garden market and adds annual revenues of £168m. Joules is paying £4.5m in cash and 2.83 million shares. Peel Hunt has increased its 2021-22 pre-tax profit forecast by £2m to £10.6m.
Engineer Avingtrans (AVG) maintained its interim revenues at £54.1m and the stemming of losses at recent acquisitions has helped pre-tax profit to nearly double to £3.5m. It offset the lower demand from the oil and gas sector. The recent merging of the MRI operations with Magnetica, will enable niche MRI products to be developed, but it will take time for the revenues to come through. Meanwhile, Avingtrans is stopping supplying third parties. The valuable Luton site could be sold in the next year or so if market conditions allow.
Kromek (KMK) is raising up to £13m via a placing and open offer at 15p a share. The cash will be used to accelerate the commercialisation of its bio-security products and boost the marketing of medical imaging and nuclear detection products. Intuitive Investments Group (IIG) is investing £250,000 in the placing.
Packaging manufacturer Robinson (RBN) is acquiring blow moulded containers producer Dhela Plast for up to £7.7m. There will be additional investment of £2.4m in the Danish company. The customer sectors are similar to Robinson and the deal widens its geographic reach.
MAIN MARKET
Motor finance provider S & U (SUS) expects a rebound in demand when lockdown restrictions are eased. In the past two months new deal transactions are running at nearly 80% of previous levels. Investment in Aspen Bridging has been increased because of the strong demand. A second interim dividend of 25p a share has been announced.
A planned demerger of assets by Aseana Properties Ltd (ASPL) has been stopped because the banks have not agreed to the proposal.
Castillo Copper Ltd (CCZ) confirms an extension to the 100%-owned Big One deposit and JORC modelling is underway.
Argo Blockchain (ARB) intends to acre 320 acres in Texas where it will build a new mining facility in the next 12 months. The overall cost will be $17.5m in shares.
UP Global Sourcing (UPGS) grew interim sales by 11%. Beldray represented 28% of sales, with the next biggest contributions coming from licenced brands Salter and Russel Hobbs.
One Heritage Group (OHG) is taking advantage of the share price rise over the past two months to raise £548,500 at 30p a share. The residential developer floated before Christmas at 10p a share. One Heritage plans to buy an office block in Stockport, which can be converted into residential. Plus House will cost £725,000.
Tirupati Graphite (TGR) is increasing the planned flake graphite capacity of the first module at the Vatomina project by 50% to 9,000 tonnes a year. The project will be commissioned in the second quarter. Carboflamex and other expandable graphite products produced by the company have gained certification to be sold in the EU.
Avation (AVAP) has entered into a lease with an Asian airline for an ATR72-600 aeroplane, which should be delivered in March.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 1 February 2021
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Property investment company Ace Liberty and Stone (ALSP) more than doubled its interim profit. In the six months to October 2020, rental income was 7% lower at £3.22m, while pre-tax profit was 121% higher at £674,000. The profit improvement was due to lower interest charges, offset by a £200,000 write down on assets held for sale. Rent collections have exceeded 80% each quarter. There were £131,000 of rent concessions written off in the period. NAV is £32.2m. Net debt was £49.6m at the end of October 2020. Loan to value is 53%. There is no interim dividend.
Sativa Wellness (SWEL) plans to achieve UK FSA Novel Foods accreditation by the end of March. This will enable the company to sell CBD products under the Goodbody brand and white labels. An online store will be launched. It will also be completing the integration and simplification of the businesses. Management believes the company can become cash generative from operating businesses this year. Chief executive Henry Lees-Buckley has stepped down from the holding company board.
NQ Minerals (NQMI) has resumed exploration at the Beaconsfield mine, which has 483,000 ounces of JORC compliant mineral resources.
Gunsynd (GUN) increased its stake in Rincon Resources to 17.3%. The company’s employee benefit trust is subscribing for 15 million shares at par and that will raise £12,750. That equates to a 3.7% stake.
World High Life (LIFE) raised £566,000 at 1p a share. First quarter revenues of Love Hemp were 13% ahead of the previous quarter.
Altona Energy (ANR) raised £523,000 at 6.5p a share, although £355,000 is still to be received. The cash will enable the company to complete due diligence on two rare earths mining projects in Africa and a move to the standard list. Two more possible acquisitions of rare earths assets are being negotiated.
Early Equity (EEQP) raised £243,000 at 0.5p a share.
Eastinco Mining and Exploration (EM.P) executive chairman has acquired 650,000 shares at 2.0308p each, which takes his stake to 6%. Arbuthnot Banking (ARBB) chairman and chief executive Sir Henry Angest bought 3,161 non-voting shares in the financial services provider. He owns 56.1% of the voting shares and 64.9% of the non-voting shares.
AIM
Insolvency-related litigation firm Manolete Partners (MANO) has warned that the pipeline of new cases has slowed because of the government’s Covid-19 support for businesses. Case enquiries have fallen sharply, and this is expected to remain the case until the end of March at least. Manolete has already completed twice as many cases as in the year to March 2020. Gross cash collected from cases was £9.3m up until the end of December and the company’s share is £4.8m compared with cash overheads of £3.2m. Full year realised profit will be higher than expected but the increase in unrealised gains will not be as much as anticipated. There may be a small second half profit. Mithaq Capital took a 16.1% stake on the day of the trading statement. Three non-executives bought shares.
Ideagen (IDEA) increased its annual recurring revenues to £54.8m at the end of October 2020 with organic growth of 7%. The document management and compliance software supplier says that 83% of its revenues are recurring. It is on course to improve full year pre-tax profit from £14.3m to £17.2m.
Dekel Agri-Vision (DKL) has completed a £3.5m fundraising at 5p a share. Dekel plans to spend £1.1m in cash and shares acquiring a further 16.7% of the raw cashew nut processing project in Tiebissou, Cote d’Ivoire. That will take the stake to 70.7%. The rest of the cash will fund the ongoing business.
Cloud-based PCI-compliant payment services provider PCI-Pal (PCIP) increased interim revenues by 56% to £3.2m. Total annual contract value has risen to £8.3m. Net cash was £2.1m at the end of 2020.
Beximco Pharma (BXP) increased interim revenues from £112.6m to £125.8m. Export sales were flat. Pre-tax profit increased from £15.5m to £19.4m. Beximco has received the first consignment of five million doses of the Oxford/ AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine.
CIP Merchant Capital (CIP) has rejected a potential 50p a share cash bid by Corporation Financière Européenne S.A. That compares with the last quoted NAV of 78.05p a share.
MAIN MARKET
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing (BMY) continued to trade strongly with revenues ahead of expectations. Investec has upgraded forecast 2020-21 revenues by 4% and earnings per share by 19% to 14.1p a share, which is still down on last year. There should be net cash of £50m by the end of February 2021.
IT firm Triad Group (TRD) says that results in the second half will be well ahead of the same period last year.
Associated British Engineering (ASBE) has still not published its accounts for the year to September 2020. Management is considering opportunities that will help to get the share trading suspension lifted.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 25 January 2021
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Rutherford Health (RUTH) has signed contracts with the NHS that underpin a significant proportion of its fixed costs. More cash will be required in order to take advantage of the potential for the cancer care clinics. The cash will be needed in the next few months and could be raised at the same time as moving to AIM. Capacity of the Cardiff site could be fully utilised in 2021 and patients have been booked in at three other sites.
Broadband services provider Rural Broadband Solutions (RBBS) has grown its number of connections to 2,500 by the start of January and is signing up 25 a month. Digital marketing is being increased to attract clients that have access to the Rural Gigabit voucher funding scheme. There is interest from 300 households so the company can apply for £1m of government funding. The target is 5,000 monthly paying customers by October 2023.
S-Ventures (SVEN) has acquired 75.1% of We Love Purely Ltd by issuing 1.53 million shares at 9p a share, which is equivalent to £137,600 and paying off a loan of £30,000. We Love Purely is a snacks supplier and it sells Purely plantain chips. Under new ownership the product range will be expanded. Two S-Ventures directors held shares in the acquired company.
Investment company Gledhow Investments (GDH) raised £1.69m from investment disposals in the year to September 2020. That generated a profit of £508,000 after admin expenses. NAV increased from £884,000 to £1.3m. That includes £382,000 of cash compared with a market capitalisation of £539,000.
Coinsilium Group Ltd (COIN) says that the value of its crypto currency position has increased by two-fifths. On 21 January, there was cash of $1.5m, which is mainly crypto currencies. There are also $164,000 of RIF tokens that will vest over 22 months.
Gunsynd (GUN) has converted part of its loan to Rogue Baron at 3.97p a share and that gives it a 19.7% stake in the drinks company. Once Rogue Baron joins Aquis Stock Exchange the rest of the loan stock will be converted. Warrants have been exercised that raised £200,000 for Gunsynd.
Engineer Vulcan Industries (VULC) says third quarter trading was in line with expectations. Third quarter revenues were 14% higher the second quarter at £1.6m. Order books are strong. The proposed acquisition of E Lowe will not happen.
Capital for Colleagues (CFCP) has maintained its NAV at 52.75p a share at the end of November 2020. There are 16 investments in the portfolio.
NQ Minerals (NQMI) has filed a draft prospectus for its move to the standard list.
Dozens Savings has issued just over £1m of retail bonds and demand is outstripping supply.
AIM
Business restructuring company Begbies Traynor (LSE: BEG) has acquired rival CVR Global for up to £20.8m, which is its largest acquisition. CVR’s annual profit was £1.2m and there are potential cost savings of £750,000 a year.
Beximco Pharmaceuticals (BXP) is acquiring Sanofi Bangladesh for £35.5m. The deal is still subject to regulatory approval. This will broaden the product range and helps the group move into new sectors. It will also add more manufacturing capacity. The deal should be earnings enhancing. Sanofi made a pre-tax profit of £4.3m in 2019.
Ground engineering contractor Van Elle (VANL) made a loss in the first half of 2020-21 and trading remains mixed. Interim revenues fell by 21% due to the original lockdown and delayed rail work, but there should be a recovery in the second half. Cost reductions are coming through and helping to stem the loss. This puts Van Elle in a stronger position for the next financial year. Improving utilisation of equipment will help the company return to profit and start paying dividends again.
Acoustic materials supplier Autins (AUTG) would have reported halved second-hand revenues without the contribution from PPE. Full year revenues fell from £26.9m to £21.5m as one major automotive customer was hit by production problems. The loss increased from £1.54m to £1.76m. The high depreciation charge means that £1.48m of cash was generated from operations during the year. The Neptune product is gaining new contracts, particularly for electric vehicles.
Flexible printed circuit technology developer Trackwise Designs (TWD) disappointed the market with its trading statement. Growth in revenues has been slower than expected due to short-term problems, but finnCap has maintained its 2021 forecast, which predicts a rise in revenues from £6.2m to £14.2m. That would be enough to make the company profitable.
Alumasc (LSE: ALU) traded ahead of expectations in the six months to December 2020 and this has led to a large upgrade in the full year pre-tax profit forecast to £8.9m. There has been a bounce back in building and construction activity.
Trans-Siberian Gold (TSG) produced 15,217 ounces of gold at the Asacha mine in the fourth quarter, taking the total for the year to 45,066 ounces. Annual revenues were $81m. Production has stopped at Vein 25 because of an accident that killed two people. Mining in the main zone continues.
CCTV equipment supplier UniVision Engineering Ltd (UVEL) has signed a supplementary agreement with MTR Corp in Hong Kong for an additional £1.53m of work.
Jade Road Investments (JADE) is the new name for Adamas Finance Asia.
MAIN MARKET
LED lighting and wiring accessories supplier Luceco (LUCE) traded at the top of expectations in 2020, helped by a strong second half. Pre-tax profit will be around £29m, up from £15.8m in 2019. Cash generation is strong and net debt has declined to £18.3m.
Castillo Copper (CCZ) is considering selling its Broken Hill Alliance (BHA) project. This will enable the company to focus on the Mt Oxide project in Queensland, where there have been positive drilling results. Plans are being made to accelerate the development of this project. There should be more news about the other assays from the drilling and there will be modelling of a JORC resource. It makes sense to focus on this asset. BHA has is highly prospective for silver, zinc and lead in the west zone and iron oxide copper gold in the east zone. There should be interest from companies operating in the region. BHA could be sold or spun off into a quoted vehicle.
Personal care products supplier InnovaDerma (IDP) is raising £4m from a placing with up to £500,000 more to come from an open offer. This cash will finance investment in ecommerce and improve the balance sheet. The business continues to lose money. It could be profitable in 2021-22.
Argo Blockchain (ARB) has raised £22.4m at 80p a share and the cash will be invested in more crypto currency mining equipment. This will be installed between February and June. Capacity will be increased by nearly three-fifths.
Strong footwear sales helped Zotefoams (ZTF) to achieve slightly higher revenues in 2020 with pre-tax profit at the top end of expectations.
Flavour ingredients supplier Treatt (TET) continues to perform strongly in the first four months of the financial year. Drinks volumes have increased despite Covid-19 restrictions and this has helped Treatt. Forecasts have been raised with the 2020-21 pre-tax profit figure increased from £15.2m to £18.2m.
Tiziana Life Sciences (TILS) has switched from AIM to the Main Market.
Pensana Rare Earths (PRE) will drop the ASX listing on 24 February.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 7 December 2020
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Newbury Racecourse (NYR) has completed the sale of 1.2 acres of land on the northern perimeter of the racecourse for £1.5m. That is equal to book value.
NQ Minerals (NQMI) is able to draw down from its recently arranged $55m loan facility between its subsidiary Hellyer Gold Mines with ING. The cash is being used to pay off previous debt.
Wheelsure Holdings (WHLP) improved revenues from £178,000 to £235,000 in the year to August 2020, but there remain potential delays to sales. That is particularly true of Transport for London because of its financial problems. The loss was slightly reduced from £224,000 to £203,000. Wheelsure has moved from net liabilities to net assets of £7,000.
Four new directors have been appointed to the board of SulNOx (SNOX) following a general meeting and they have replaced the previous directors. Radu Florescu had previously been a director of the company. Shareholders have also given them permission to issue shares.
Trading has recommenced in Altona Energy (ANR) shares after £138,000 was raised at 6.5p a share. Further cash will be required in the next four months. Indications have been received from investors that a move to AIM or the standard list could enable Altona to raise £1m. Due diligence is being completed on the two rare earth acquisition targets in Malawi and Uganda. Christian Taylor-Wilkinson has been appointed chief executive.
Quetzal Capital (WENP) made a pre-tax profit of £276,000 in the year to June 2020. That was due to creditors accepting 7.5p in each £1 they were owed. Business opportunities are being assessed.
Wishbone Gold (WSBN) has applied for a new exploration licence in northern Queensland, which is 15km north west of the Ravenswood gold mine.
IOV Labs Ltd is investing £330,000 in Coinsilium Group (COIN) at 3p a share. One warrant will be issued for each two shares and the exercise price is 4.5p a share. IOV can appoint a director to the board, having increased its stake to 13.9%. Coinsilium says that it has enough cash until January 2022.
BWA (BWAP) reported an interim loss of £2.91m, which reduced net assets to £2.43m. The Cameroon business has marked out two licence areas and the first sampling has been undertaken with the lab results expected. BWA had written off its stake in the Prego prepaid debit card business, but there is a potential takeover by a Canadian listed company.
Belvedere Leisure (BELV) has issued £872,000 of 6.25% secured bonds, September 2025. This takes the number in issue to £979,000.
AIM
Floorcoverings manufacturer Victoria (VCP) produced better than expected interims. Peel Hunt increased its full year pre-tax profit forecast from £9.4m to £28.7m, while earnings are set to improve from 5.6p a share to 17.4p a share. There should be further significant recovery next year, but by then further acquisitions will have been made so the group will be different.
Springfield Properties (SPR) has gained planning approval for its first private rental development in Scotland. It is for 75 family homes at the company’s Bertha Park Village. Springfield will build the homes under a fixed cost contract and hand them to the PRS provider. This provides additional, predictable cash flow.
Online fashion retailer Sosandar (SOS) increased interim revenues by 52% to £4.3m even though marketing spending was reduced. Conversion rates are improving. Sales through John Lewis and Next started in August. The loss was reduced from £2.79m to £1.1m. Marketing has been stepped up and there has been further growth in revenues during the autumn. There was still £4m in the bank at the end of November 2020.
Digital TV software Mirada (MIRA) reported a 5% reduction in interim revenues to $5.5m due to Covid-19 related delays. Allenby forecasts a decline in full year revenues from $13.2m to $11.5m and the loss is expected to increase from $1.42m to $3.26m. Net debt could rise to $8.45m by the end of March 2021. Next year, the loss should be lower and Mirada should be cash generative so net debt would reduce by March 2022.
AssetCo (ASTO) has launched a tender offer for 6.53 million shares at 411p each. That will return £26.9m to shareholders. Following payment from former auditor Grant Thornton, AssetCo should have cash of around £55m.
Tavistock Investments (TAVI) has postponed a general meeting designed to pass a new long-term incentive plan for executive directors Brian Raven and Oliver Cooke. There has been unfavourable feedback from shareholders.
The Property Franchise Group (TPFG) has made a bid approach to fellow residential lettings business Hunters Property (HUNT).
Nucleus Financial (NUC) has received a bid approach from IntegraFin Holdings (IHP) and the offer is likely to be in cash. Aquiline Capital and Allfunds (UK) are also considering offers. Sanlam UK owns 52% of Nucleus.
DBAY Advisers has acquired shares in Telit Communications (TCM) at 194.8p each, so any potential bid will have to be at least at this price.
Invinity Energy Systems (IES) is raising £20.5m via a placing at 175p a share and up to £2m more could be raised through a one-for-64 open offer. The cash will help to scale up production of its vanadium flow batteries.
Pires Investments (PIRI) is subscribing for a 15% stake in decentralised finance company DeTech Studio and it will also be issued four million YOP tokens. YOP is the decentralised finance platform that DeTech is developing. The plan is to make it easier for non-experts to use. The yop token will facilitate engagement with smart contracts on the Ethereum network.
MAIN MARKET
Tirupati Graphite has launched its fundraising ahead of a standard listing on 11 December. It is raising £6m at 45p a share, which would capitalise the company at £33.6m. The cash will be invested in mining and processing of graphite.
Marwyn has launched three new shells on the standard list. Marwyn Acquisition Co I Ltd (MAC1), Marwyn Acquisition Co II Ltd (MAC2) and Marwyn Acquisition Co III Ltd (MAC3) are all seeking acquisition targets in media, technology and healthcare that can take advantage of digitalisation. Directors of past Marwyn shells are investors in the new shells. Each company has issued 700,000 shares at 100p each.
Standard list shell Mining Minerals (MMM) is in discussions with a potential strategic investor.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 23 November 2020
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Daniel Thwaites (THW) had a strong eleven months in the year to March 2020, but the final month was unsurprisingly poor for the brewer and pubs operator. Full year revenues edged up from £96.9m to £98.1m, while pre-tax profit fell from £4.5m to £3.6m. Net debt was reduced from £69.7m to £65.4m, helped by property disposals. No dividends are planned in the near future.
EPE Special Opportunities (ESO) has taken advantage of the strong Luceco (LUCE) share price and sold four million shares for total proceeds of £10m. EPE still owns a 24.9% stake.
KR1 (KR1) has participated in token generation by four platforms. There was a follow-on participation in a Plasm Network distribution event, while KR1 has also received tokens from ChainX, Edgeware and Phala Network. The Phala Network tokens have been sold for nearly $124,000.
BWA (BWAP) has given St George’s Eco-Mining Corp until 27 November to repurchase the company’s investment in Kings of the North Corp.
Tectonic Gold (TTAU) says that the first hole drilled at the Specimen Hill prospect in Queensland has signs of gold bearing mineralisation. A second hole is underway.
Evrima (EVA) and partner Power Metal Resources (POW) have published a drilling update for the Molopo Farms complex in Botswana. The first hole has been completed at the nickel sulphide and platinum project. This confirmed that it is a feeder zone. Samples will be tested. There is a four-hole drilling programme.
Cadence Minerals (KDNC) owns 30% of mining and exploration leases that form part of the Yangibana rare earth deposit. Drilling has confirmed that recent drilling results show an economic mineralised corridor 8km long.
Gledhow Investments (GDH) has taken a 4.82% stake in IamFire (FIRE).
NQ Minerals (NQMI) has raised £835,000 at 5.5p a share, which is below the 7p a share that a UK institutional investor paid last month. Early Equity (EEQP) raised £105,000 at 0.5p a share.
AIM
Trackwise Designs (TWD) is raising a further £11m at 200p in order to finance a new Improved Harness Technology (IHT) manufacturing site to quadruple capacity. That is a large discount to the market price of 320p. A further £1m could be raised via an open offer. Back in March, there was a £5.87m fundraising at 80p a share. That was at the time of the purchase of Stevenage Circuits for up to £2.457m. The rest of that cash was earmarked for capacity expansion. The subsequent orders received by Trackwise mean that further investment in capacity is required. The funding dilutes short-term earnings per share.
Agricultural supplies group Wynnstay (WYN) had a strong end to its financial year, particularly September and October. Feed sales were better than expected. There will be one-off costs for closing three sites. Shore Capital has upgraded its underlying pre-tax profit forecast from £6.7m to £8.1m. The dividend is likely to be maintained at 14p a share.
Immunodiagnostic Systems Holdings (IDH) has broken its record and published interim figures at 6.22pm on Friday. Revenues fell by 27% and the company made a bigger loss.
Staffline (STAF) is selling its apprenticeships business to Babington Business College for a nominal fee. The business was losing money in the first half of 2020, although it was a lower loss than the year before. Staffline will concentrate on recruitment and adult skills training.
Bion (BION) is establishing a biogas consortium with three other companies in Malaysia. The plan is to formalise the partnership so that a special purpose vehicle that would be 55%-owned by Bion will own and operate biogas assets of Bion and Green Lagoon Technology. The new venture would be the largest owner of biogas plants in Malaysia. Shareholders will have to approve the deal if it goes ahead. Bion will work with the other two companies to develop waste-to-energy projects.
Trading is ahead of expectations at Somero Enterprises (SOM) and this should enable a significant supplementary dividend for 2020. The concrete levelling equipment supplier is expected to end the year with net cash of $26m.
Dekel Agri-Vision (DKL) has completed the acquisition of the stake in the Cote d’Ivoire cashew nut processing project that takes its shareholding to 52%. October palm oil production was 1,818 metric tonnes and 1,843 metric tonnes was sold. The average price improved to €636/tonne.
Mirada (MIRA) has integrated Disney+ into its Iris platform for Televisa’s izzi pay TV platform in Mexico.
Invinity Energy Systems (IES) has gained a contract to deliver a 0.5MWh vanadium flow battery system to a site in California. This should generate £480,000in 2021. There is also an order for two smaller battery modules.
Three potential bidders are assessing offers for Telit Communications (TCM) and the latest is u-blox, which is considering an all-share offer worth 250p a share. DBAY Advisors and Lantronix are the other potential bidders.
MAIN MARKET
Packaging supplier Macfarlane (MACF) says that trading in the four months to October 2020 is ahead of the same period in 2019. Full year pre-tax profit is expected to be similar to last year at around £14m. It was previously expected to be more than 10% lower. Arden forecasts a total 2020 dividend of 2.4p a share.
Emmerson (EML) has completed the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment for the Khemisset potash project in northern Morocco.
Petra Diamonds (PDL) has an agreement in principle for a restructuring that involves the raising of money from a loan note issue and the remainder of the loan notes will be converted into shares equivalent to 91% of the enlarged share capital.
Thalassa (THAL) has invested £300,000 in foreign exchange and international payments firm Cornerstone FS for a 3.65% stake. This follows a £3m investment in 8% convertible loan notes in payment systems company Tappit Technologies.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 19 October 2020
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Arbuthnot Banking (ARBB) remains profitable and loan balances have increased by 3% to £1.6bn. Deposit balances are 14% higher at £2.23bn. Assets under management are 4% ahead.
Wine maker Chapel Down (CDGP) has produced a better quality harvest than 2018 and yields are better than expected. More wine can be released for sale next year.
A general meeting has been requisitioned at SulNOx Group (SNOX) by three shareholders. They want to remove the entire board and appoint four new directors.
KR1 (KR1) has generated just over $1m from the sale of tokens in the Polkadot project at $5.12 each. That is a small proportion of the stake and KR1 still owns more than 3.5 million tokens.
NQ Minerals (NQMI) continues to increase production at the Hellyer mine. In the third quarter lead concentrate production was 11,865 tonnes and zinc concentrate production was 4,585 tonnes. Production rates are still increasing.
Wishbone Gold (WSBN) reported a reduction in interim revenues from $6.56m to $3.64m. There was a $224,000 outflow from operations.
Altona Energy (ANR) has extended its fundraising until 11 November. The plan is to raise up to £500,000 at 6.5p a share.
Trading has been suspended in the shares of medicinal cannabis company Freyherr International (FRYR) because trading has been difficult, and the auditing of last year’s accounts has not been completed.
VI Mining (VIM) is asking shareholders to approve of the withdrawal from the Aquis Stock Exchange.
Eastinco Mining (EM.P) has published full year and interim figures. The company remains loss-making. There was £173,000 in the bank at the end of June 2020.
TechFinancials (TECH) is stopping the development of its Footies ticketing technology because of the uncertainty surrounding events. It has also ended its investment in Cedex due to lack of cash. All B2B brokerage technology activities will end at the beginning of November. New opportunities are being assessed.
AIM
Synairgen (SNG) is raising up to £87m via a placing and open offer at 175p a share. This will finance a phase III trial for SNG001 for the treatment of Covid-19. That will start before the end of the year. Results are expected in the middle of next year. Synairgen will also invest in scaling up its manufacturing.
More good news from Touchstone Exploration (TXP) which has made another significant gas discovery in Trinidad. The Chinook-1 discovery is the third in a row. This means that Touchstone should be highly cash generative next year enabling it to fund more exploration.
LiDCO (LID) had already outlined its interim figures in a trading statement so the move into profit thanks to high monitor sales to the NHS was not a surprise. There is likely to be a second half loss, but the heart monitoring equipment supplier will still be profitable for the full year. There have been delays in winning hup recurring revenue contracts, but these revenues have reached an annual rate of £3m. There was £3.1m in the bank at the end of July 2020.
BlueRock Diamonds (BRD) increased production in the third quarter from 3,973 carats one year ago to 5,577 carats. Sales were much lower at 3,803 carats because there was one sale during the quarter. The average price realised has fallen from $432/carat to $330/carat. That was expected due to the change in mix of stones with only one high value stone sold during the period. An updated resource estimate is expected in the near future. BlueRock is hosting a shareholder conference call at 7pm on 22 October. Anyone wanting to participate should go to www.facebook.com/valuethemarkets or www.twitter.com/valuethemarkets.
SkinBioTherapeutics (SBTX) is raising money to accelerate the progress of AxisBiotix, which is involved in the development of food supplements for psoriasis treatment. This could be generating revenues in the year to June 2022. A placing at 16p a share raised £4m with up to £500,000 to come from an open offer at the same price. Some cash will be available to fund development of other microbiome-related products. This cash should last until the end of 2022.
Billing and customer relationship management software provider Cerillion (LSE:CER) says that its year-end order book is at a record level and the full year figures will be slightly better than expected.
ThinkSmart (TSL) is returning A$6.5m of cash to shareholders. There will be a 4.575 cents a share capital reduction and a 1.525 cents a share unfranked dividend. ThinkSmart has around £10m in the bank. The current exchange rate is 55p for each A$1. The distribution is worth £3.6m, so around one-third of the available cash.
Seeing Machines (SEE) is increasing its potential market by developing its driver monitoring system into vehicle occupant monitoring system. This is an additional revenue opportunity of A$350m.
Angling Direct (ANG) managed to stay profitable in the first half as online sales helped to offset the closure of retail sites in the period. The fishing products retailer has a strong balance sheet and shop sales bounced back after reopening. A pre-tax profit of £400,000 is forecast for the full year, rising to £1.5m next year.
Netcall (NET) is acquiring robotic process automation technology company Automagica in order to enhance its contact centre products. Automagica has its own technology. Netcall’s full year revenues increased from £22.9m to £25.1m, while pre-tax profit increased from £1.3m to £1.8m. Margins are improving.
MAIN MARKET
Motor dealer Lookers (LOOK) says third quarter trading was better than expected. New and used car volumes increased by 13.6% compared with the same period the previous year. Lookers has outperformed the market. Aftersales revenues were also higher. Net debt was £22.5m at the end of September 2020.
Electronic products supplier DiscoverIE (DSCV) says that first half sales fell by 6%, but orders were ahead of sales in September. A dividend will be announced with the interims in November.
Construction and infrastructure firm nmcn (NMCN) has reviewed major contracts and this will lead to a loss this year. The main problem has been water contracts and some of the charges may relate to other periods. This follows the departure of the chief executive and finance director.
Nanoco (NANO) has a cash outflow to £300,000 a month. There is net cash of £5.2m and that should last until July 2022. The non-cadmium quantum dots technology developer lost £4.9m in the year to July 2020.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 5 October 2020
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Wine and beer maker Chapel Down (CDGP) made a similar interim loss this year. Wine revenues were one-fifth ahead even though sales were lost in pubs and the company’s own retail site. Online sales offset those declines. Wine stocks have increased by one-third to £11m. Beer and cider sales fell by 38% and gross profit slump by 59%. There was £5.83m in cash at the end of June 2020.
Coinsilium Group Ltd (COIN) reported an increase in interim revenues from £109,000 to £140,000. Reversal of impairments and unrealised gains helped to generate a pre-tax profit of £27,000, down from £242,000 because of lower unrealised gains. NAV was £2.52m, including cash of £129,000, at the end of June 2020. Since then, there has been an increase in the value of cryptocurrency and tokens held by the company.
Western Selection (WESP) has sold its stake in AIM-quoted Brand Architekts (BAR) and raised £1.43m at 109.78p a share. The shares were valued at £1.63m in the recent balance sheet. Peter Gyllenhammr increased his stake in Brand Architekts from 6.1% to 10.5%.
KR1 (KR1) reported an interim pre-tax profit of £522,000, including an unrealised gain of £711,000. The NAV was 6.18p a share at the end of June 2020. The latest digital asset investment is $100,000 in the Moonbeam Network project. This is a smart contract platform and KR1 will receive Glimmer tokens that will power Moonbeam’s blockchain.
Incanthera (INC) has announced positive data for a skin sensitisation study for skin cancer technology Sol. This shows it to be non-irritant. ImmuPharma has subscribed £250,000 for shares at 9.5p each. That takes the stake to 15.3%. A total of £350,000 was raised with directors subscribing for the other £100,000.
Housebuilder St Mark Homes (SMAP) has an NAV of 125p a share, compared with a share price of 87.5p (85p/90p). There was a swing from interim profit to loss.
Gunsynd (GUN) has invested £58,000 in gold explorer Angold Resources, subject to its reversal into ZTR Acquisition, which was formerly Oyster Oil and Gas, where Gunsynd already has a stake.
Property investor Ace Liberty and Stone (ALSP) has completed the £1.43m acquisition of a property in Scarborough leased to Skipton Building Society. It has exchanged contracts on a Carlisle property costing £1.71m.
NQ Minerals (NQMI) says that processing rates at the Hellyer gold mine have increased to 165 tonnes per hour. The average annualised production rate was 1.23Mtpa in July and August.
Gowin New Energy Group (GWIN) says it is near to appointing a new corporate adviser so that trading can resume in the shares. Management is working towards launching a tea business.
Primorus Investments (PRIM) has invested £1m in construction payments software company Zuuse. Thi is part of a £2.2m fundraising to pay for a transaction expected in the next few weeks. Primorus already owned shares and warrants in Zuuse, so it owns 1.7% of fully diluted share capital. Primorus has sold six million Greatland Gold (GGP) shares at an average price of 14.8p each. That leaves Primorus with 20 million Greatland shares.
Capital for Colleagues (CFCP) had an NAV of 51.53p a share at the end of May 2020.
IFA group AFH Financial (AFHP) says that business is recovering and it continues to be profitable and cash generative.
Eurocann International (BUD) is changing its name to DiscovOre (ORE) and the investing strategy broadened to include natural resources as well as cannabis-related activities.
SativaWellness Group Inc (SWEL) has been readmitted to the AQSE growth market following the reverse takeover of the company.
AIM
Avingtrans (AVG) improved its 2019-20 pre-tax profit from £5.3m to £5.9m despite loss contributions from recent acquisitions. One of those acquisitions, Booth Industries, has won a £36m doors contract for HS2. finnCap forecasts a 2020-21 pre-tax profit of £7.3m and Avingtrans is likely to reinstate the dividend.
Demand for the type of data erasure and cyber security services provided by Blancco (BLTG) remains strong, although April and May were tough. In the year to June 2020, revenues improved from £30.5m to £33.4m, helped by acquisitions. Pre-tax profit grew from £3m to £3.9m. Investec expects further profit improvement to £4.3m this year, but it will be second half weighted.
Geospatial services provider 1Spatial (SPA) reported an 8% rise in interim revenues to £11.7m, although the core business revenues made up a greater proportion of the total. There was an interim loss but positive operating cashflow of £1.7m. Net cash was £3.4m. 1Spatial could make a small full year profit.
Grant Thornton has decided to settle litigation with AssetCo (ASTO) rather than appeal the court judgement. This means that AssetCo can access the £28.6m lodged with the court plus the balance of money owed by Grant Thornton. Once this is received, AssetCo will have cash of £55m and net assets of around £52m. The market capitalisation already takes this into account.
The FDA has approved adrenal treatment Alkindi in the US and Diurnal (DNL) should receive a $2.5m milestone payment from distributor Eaton pharmaceuticals when sales start next year. That is on top of licence income. That means that Diurnal’s cash will last longer.
New Trend Lifestyle Group (NTLG) changes its name to Conduity Capital (CCAP) on 5 October. The former activities have been sold and Conduity becomes a shell.
Erris Resources (ERIS) plans to buy a 50% stake in Zinnwald lithium project owner Deutsche Lithium from Bacanora Lithium (BCN) in exchange for shares and a net profit royalty.
Yu Group (YU.) reported a decline in first half revenues from £56.6m to £45.9m due to lower energy consumption by its commercial energy customers. There was a lower loss in the period but reduced working capital requirements meant that there was a significant cash inflow from operating activities. There was £17.9m in the bank at the end of June 2020. Management has invested in marketing in order to win new business.
Intelligent Ultrasound (MED) is launching its first AI software product alongside GE Healthcare. GE has 480,000 ultrasound machines in use and the AI software will be integrated in a range of women’s health ultrasound machines. It could be rolled out across other machines in the future.
M and C Saatchi (SAA) has failed to publish its results and trading in the shares has been suspended. Windar Photonics (WHPO), Clear Leisure (CLP), Malvern International (MLVN), Tri-Star Resources (TSTR) and Hydrodec (HYR) have had share trading suspended for the same reason. The acquisition of Bristol Energy customers will boost scale and help Yu to move towards profitability.
MAIN MARKET
Car finance provider S and U (SUS) generated revenues of £42.8m in the six months to July 2020. That was a 3% decline, but the effects of the Covid-19 lockdown will be greater in the second half. Net receivables were down by 6% to £281.9m, but new loan volumes fell by one-third in the first half. Bad debt provisions were increased by £13.8m to £21.7m and this led pre-tax profit to slump from £17.1m to £6.3m. The property bridging loan business made a lower profit contribution, although the market has subsequently inproved. Even so, a dividend of 22p a share was announced, down from 34p a share.
Guild Esports (GILD) raised £20m at 8p a share. The share price ended the first day of trading at 8.15p.
Mining shell Critical Metals (CRTM) joined the standard list on 29 September. The placing price was 5p and the price was 5.5p at the end of the week.
Toople (TOOP) is on course to achieve £1.6m of annualised cost savings from integrating DMSL. The focus is on margin rather than just growing revenues.
Ross Group (RGP) reported a reduced loss of £830,000, down from £3.15m, in the first half of 2020. There were no revenues, but the company is trying to build up supply chain operations.
InnovaDerma (IDP) reported full year figures in line with its trading statement in July. The skincare products supplier slumped into loss due to higher marketing costs. There was cash of £1.2m at the end of June 2020.
Newspaper publishing consolidator National World (NWOR) had £4.31m in the bank at the end of June 2020. It is still evaluating acquisition opportunities.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 21 September 2020
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
Renewable energy supplier Good Energy (GOOD) improved interim revenues by 6% to £67.5m. Gross margins declined as Good Energy focused on business customers. There was a slump from profit to loss, partly down to expected credit losses. There is no interim dividend, but payments should resume next year.
Newbury Racecourse (NYR) reported a two-thirds slump in interim revenues to £2.43m. This meant that the loss jumped from £363,000 to £1.69m. There were six race days in the period. Catering, events and the hotel all fell into loss, although the Rocking Horse nursery made a reduced profit. Nine race days are planned for the second half. There will be a substantial loss for 2020.
S-Ventures (SVEN) raised £650,400 at 2.67p a share prior to flotation on 16 September. There have been no trades and the share price ended the week at 3p/5p.
Trading has resumed in Lombard Capital (LCAP) following the completion of disciplinary proceedings. A fine of £23,800 has been imposed on Lombard for the failure to provide timely information and a resulting sharp movement in the share price. Lombard also failed to notify changes in significant shareholdings.
Western Selection (WESP) says that its NAV has fallen by 29.7% to 45p a share over the 12 months to June 2020. The decline in the share prices of AIM-quoted investments is behind the decline. The lack of a dividend from Bilby (BILB) meant that income more than halved.
NQ Minerals (NQMI) has raised £275,000 at 7p a share. TruSpine Technologies (TSP) says that Evrensel Capital Partners is being given an extension for its subscription of £250,000 at 36p a share. Evrensel has until 11 November to complete the subscription and it has been taken on as an adviser by TruSpine.
Panmure Gordon has been approved as a corporate adviser for the Aquis Stock Exchange.
AIM
ThinkSmart (LON: TSL) has revalued its remaining 10% stake in buy now, pay later finance provider Clearpay. The Clearpay stake was valued at £53.7m at the end of June 2020. That is based on the Afterpay share price, which has risen since. Following the settlement of litigation with Dixons Carphone, which led to a payment of £1.45m after June, ThinkSmart has around £10m in the bank and generating cash.
Hanover Bidco has launched a 40p a share recommended bid for ClearStar (CLSU) and this values the employee checks company at £14.7m. ClearStar floated at 57p a share back in July 2014.
Parcel and freight delivery company DX (DX.) increased full year revenues by 2% to £329m and there was a move from loss to a pre-tax profit of £1.8m. The freight division loss was reduced. Net cash was £12.3m, although it is helped by delayed tax payments. The parcels market is growing, and DX continues to invest in new depots.
Keystone Law (KEYS) has resumed dividends following the interims. Revenues grew but the rate of growth slowed. Lawyer recruitment continues and Panmure Gordon has upgraded its 2020-21 earnings from 7.1p a share to 11.9p a share.
Billing and customer relationship management software provider Cerillion (CER) has gained its largest ever contract. This £11.2m contract underpins next year’s figures.
There was a small decline in interim revenues at freight management services provider Xpediator (XPD) and there are further cost saving benefits in the second half. Freight forwarding made a higher profit, although overall operating profit was flat. A 0.45p a share dividend was declared. NAV is 19.9p a share.
Filta Group Holdings (FLTA) has been hit by closures and weak trading in the catering sector. The commercial kitchen services franchise group says trading is recovering, but it is still down on previous levels. Revenues should be more than two-thirds of normal levels by the end of 2020.
Online security software provider Kape Technologies (KAPE) doubled revenues in the first half of 2020. Organic growth was 12% as more people working from home led to demand for Kape’s software products. There are still cost savings to come from the Private internet Access acquisition. Full year earnings per share are expected to increase from 6.5p to 13.3p.
Cloud-based payment services provider PCI Pal (PCIP) reported slightly higher than expected full year revenues of £4.4m, up from £2.8m the previous year. Total annual contract value is running at £6.7m and this underpins the current forecast for this year. PCI Pal will continue to lose money but the cash outflow will reduce.
Union Jack Oil (UJO) is raising £7m at 0.16p a share to cover the oil and gas company’s share of investment in the Wressle field and fund other work programmes and drilling.
Trading in Phimedix (PHM) shares has been suspended because the shell has not found a suitable acquisition. Prior to suspension, Steven Myers sold his 7.7% stake and Ali Mortazavi further reduced his stake from 8.15% to 7.7%.
MAIN MARKET
Tex Holdings (TXH) has decided to delist from the Main Market by 13 October. Trading has been suspended since 29 April 2019. Funding is required and the board believes it will be difficult to secure the cash as a listed company because of the requirement for a prospectus for a major share issue. Costs will also be reduced.
IMC Exploration (IMC) intends to accelerate its exploration programme at the North Wexford gold project. The drilling will be JORC compliant.
Papillon (PPHP) says due diligence on its potential mining acquisitions has been completed. Kilmapesa has recommenced gold production.
Castillo Copper Ltd (CCZ) says that it has verified high-grade copper and identified gold mineralisation at the Big One deposit, on the Mt Oxide project. There are plans to commence drilling.
Andrew Hore
Andrew Hore – Quoted Micro 31 August 2020
AQUIS STOCK EXCHANGE
KR1 (KR1) has made two more investments. There is a further investment of $100,000 in the cross-chain finance hub Acala Network in return for 153,846.15 ACA tokens at 65 cents each. KR1 now holds 1.02 million ACA tokens. That stake is valued at $663,000. There is also a new investment in MetaCartel Ventures Decentralised Autonomous Organisation. KR1 received 4,938 MCV shares for its $199,000 investment.
Imperial X (IMPP) plans to buy mineral assets and investments and a placing is raising £750,000 at 2.5p a share. The purchases involve the issue of more than 245 million shares plus 8.71 million warrants exercisable at 5p a share. Trading in the shares has been suspended until the acquisitions are completed. Imperial X is buying Howson Ventures Inc, plus assets from Anglo African Minerals, Cloudbreak Discovery and Cabox Gold. Howson owns the Rupert Minerals property in British Columbia and an investment in Anglo African Minerals, which holds licences in bauxite projects in Guinea.
Gunsynd (GUN) says that its investment in ASX-listed Eagle Mountain is “well in the money” and it has the cash it requires for its immediate needs even though the disposal of the stake in Oyster Oil and Gas has still not been completed. Gunsynd invested £110,000 in copper/gold explorer Eagle Mountain at A$0.13 a share and the price has risen to A$0.24. Rincon Resources has appointed stockbrokers for its proposed listing on ASX. Gunsynd has invested £138,000 in Rincon and has a 28% stake. Spirits company Human Brands also still hopes to float. Nickel project developer Sunshine Minerals is being acquired by Malachite Resources. Gunsynd will receive 1.26 million shares in Malachite with further deferred consideration of 1.64 million shares.
IamFire (FIRE) is raising £5.5m gross through a discounted capital bond and it is participating in a fundraising for social commerce platform WeShop ahead of a future listing. The bond is being issued at a discount of 78.73% and net proceeds of £4.4m have been received. IamFire is providing £4.5m of a £9m convertible loan to WeShop. This has an interest rate of 8% and lasts for 36 months. A flotation is one of the conversion events and the conversion would be at a 20% discount to the flotation share price. There is also an exclusive option to subscribe for a 10% stake in WeShop at a pre-money valuation of £25m. This would involve an investment of £2.78m.
Primorus investments (PRIM) has invested £875,000 in WeShop. Primorus has made realised and unrealised gains £3.55m in the six months to June 2020. Greatland Gold (GGP) is the main reason for this. The NAV increased to £8.1m compared with a £4.3m market capitalisation.
BWA Group (BWAP) has agreed to sell its investment in Kings of the North Corp to St George’s Eco-Mining Corp, which sold it for £4.66m. The convertibles issued to St George’s will be cancelled and they amount to £4.3m. St George’s will issue 1.5 million shares and transfer 2.5 million warrants to BWA. St George’s is keeping its 21% stake in BWA.
There was a £673,000 cash outflow at Cadence Minerals (KDNC) in the six months to June 2020. A cash raising means that there was £2.38m in cash at the end of the period.
NQ Minerals (NQMI) plans to undertake exploration work at the Hellyer mine, possibly as early as October/November this year.
Inqo Investments (INQO) increased annual revenues from R23.8m to R24.4m, but the loss increased from R2.5m to R6.1m. That was partly down to an inventory write-down of R1.44m and higher depreciation. Last year’s Bee Sweet honey harvest was one of the largest ever. The lodge at the Kuzuko Private Game Reserve had high occupancy rates before COVID-19. All the other activities have also been hit since the end of February.
Eurocann International (BUD) intends to amend its investing strategy and change its name just over one year since it changed it from Valiant Investments.
SulNOx Group (SNOX) has appointed Allenby as corporate adviser.
AIM
Vianet (VNET) says that customer pub sites that have resumed operations have increased from 56% to 80% over the past six years. Vianet continues to offer reduced recurring charges to both closed and reopened customers. Customer demand for data analytics is recovering. The smart machines division says two-thirds of customer vending machines are in operation and generating normal levels of revenue. There have been orders for more than 1,9000 new orders for telemetry and contactless units during lockdown.
Hostels operator Safestay (SSTY) is taking additional cost saving measures due to the continued uncertainty. Occupancy rates are running at around one-quarter and it is higher in those hostels opened earlier. Safestay has available overdraft facilities but these could run out by early next year if all hostels are not reopened by October and occupancy levels fall below 20% later this year. An occupancy rate of 57% is required for a hostel to breakeven. Sales of freeholds or terminating loss-making leases are being considered. Interim results will be published on 24 September.
Integumen (SKIN) is making an all-share offer for Modern Water (MWG) that values the latter at £21.25m. Integumen plans a ten-for-one share consolidation and it is offering one of these new shares for every ten Modern Water shares. Integumen produces test kits for Modern Water.
Drug discovery company C4X Discovery (C4XD) says that Indivior has started a phase I clinical trial for C4X_3256 for the treatment of opioid dependence. The trial will last until the end of the year, but there will be no data until 2021. C4X is making progress in identifying a candidate for the treatment of IBD and it has reached the lead optimisation stage for the treatment of Psoriasis. A collaboration with the GEN-COVID consortium, which will use C4X’s Taxonomy3 mathematical analysis technology to assess the role of genetics in disease susceptibility.
Dekel Agri-Vision (DKL) says that milling equipment has been delivered to the raw cashew nut processing project in Cote d’Ivoire. The mill should be commissioned in the second quarter of next year.
Grant Thornton has managed to persuade the courts to reduce the damages owed to AssetCo (AST) from £29.8m to £20.8m. Including interest and costs the payment should be £25m.
President Energy (PPC) has formed a renewables division. There are opportunities in wind, solar, hydro and biomass in Argentina. President has commenced a workover programme on oil wells and there are plans to drill two new wells.
MAIN MARKET
Packaging supplier Macfarlane (MACF) reported a 2% decline in interim revenues to £105.6m. The second quarter decline was much lower than for the UK economy, helped by increasing exposure to ecommerce. Increased bad debts led to a 5.5% fall in pre-tax profit to £3.62m. An interim dividend of 0.7p a share is proposed. There could be a greater decline in full year profit, although the business will still be cash generative. Arden forecasts a fall in pre-tax profit from £14.4m to £11.1m.
BATM (BVC) has signed up its first tier 1 NFVTime virtual networking customer. The Asia-based telecoms company has signed up for an initial three years will provide a reference site for the technology. This contract could be a significant revenue generator in the years to come and follows the recent proof of concept trial with ARM and Vodafone.
Anglesey Mining (AYM) has raised £200,000 at 1.6p a share. The cash will be invested in studies for the development of the Parys Mountain zinc, copper, lead, silver and gold mine. Management is also assessing other projects.
Andrew Hore